Chapter
4
“Letter for you, Wade,” Sylvia Hollamby’s miserable voice informed
her.
“Thank you, Sylvia my love,” Nikki pursed her lips and blew
Hollamby a kiss as she took the letter from her.
“Don’t be cheeky or you’ll find yourself on report,” Hollamby
snarled.
“You know you love me really, Sylvia,” Nikki smiled mischievously.
“In your dreams, Wade.“
“Nightmares, more like,” Nikki muttered as she watched the Senior
Officer leave.
“You shouldn’t wind the poor old sod up so much, Nikki,” Barbara
chastised her after watching their exchange with some amusement.
Nikki grinned. “Well, I’ve go to do something to relieve the
boredom. It’s raining cats and dogs so I can’t get out into the garden.”
“Who’s the letter from? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“It’s from Trish. I recognise the writing,” she replied,
disappointed it wasn’t from Helen.
“It’s a long time since you heard from her, isn’t it?”
“Not since…the great escape,” Nikki raised her eyebrows.
“Don’t even joke about that, Nikki,” Barbara reprimanded her. “ I
still get nightmares.”
“Tell me about it,” Nikki said wryly. “Helen might not have left
if I’d stayed in here like a good little girl.”
“There is one good think to come out of all of this, Nikki,”
Barbara mused. “Supposing you and Helen hadn’t got your act together…so to
speak and you waited until you got out of here legally. Just think how much
worse it would have been for the two of you if Helen found out then that she
didn’t…” she stopped, unsure of what to say.
“Didn’t what? Didn’t have lesbian tendencies? Didn’t fancy me?”
Nikki snapped.
“Well…yes.”
“Well, she obviously didn’t, did she?” Nikki exclaimed angrily.
“Because she couldn’t get far enough away from me when the chips were down.”
She stuffed the letter into her trouser pocket and hurried from the cell. She
saw Officer Barker watching two of the inmates play pool. “Can I go out into
the garden, Miss Barker, please?” she asked politely.
“It’s pouring down, Nikki.”
“I know but I’ve some things to do in the potting shed and it
could do with a good clear out.”
“Alright. Go ahead.”
In the potting shed, Nikki lit a cigarette then took Trish’s
letter from her pocket. It was just a few lines. Trish had never been much of a
letter writer, leaving most of the correspondence to Nikki when they had been
together. She had written that The Village, the gay club they jointly owned,
was still doing well and she had been having talks with Claire, Nikki’s
solicitor, about her appeal. Nothing earth shattering but she appreciated it
that Trish had made the effort to keep in touch.
She and Trish had always got on well. They were good friends as
well as lovers. It was only Trish’s inability to cope with her being in prison
that had split them up and she had found someone else. She thought about giving
her a call but maybe she was being selfish wanting to contact her again. Whilst
Helen was in her life she hadn’t given her a second thought but now…She
re-folded the letter and slipped it back into the envelope.
She spent the afternoon tidying the potting shed. When she’d
finished she stood back and surveyed her handiwork. Her hands were filthy and
her face was streaked with dirt but all the tools were hanging up and
everything was back in its proper place. She lit another cigarette and drew on
it heavily. Maybe her proper place was with Trish. She made her mind up to give
her a ring after tea. She knew she usually worked in the club until the early hours
of the morning then went to bed and didn’t surface again until the afternoon so
it wasn’t any use ringing earlier.
“I’ve decided to give Trish a ring,” she informed Barbara as they
ate their evening meal.
Barbara looked at her in surprise. “What brought that on? I’m
sorry if it’s because of what I said earlier.”
“It isn’t, “ Nikki reassured her. “I want her to come and visit me
that’s all.”
“Are you sure that’s what you want, Nikki?” Barbara asked doubtfully.
“Sometimes it isn’t such a good idea to go back.”
“Babs, I only want her to visit me,” Nikki retorted. “What do you
think I’m going to do? Throw her over a table in the visitors’ room and have my
wicked way with her?”
Barbara raised her eyebrows. “That would certainly give Hollamby
something to complain about.”
Nikki laughed then her face became serious. “I just need to know
there’s someone out there for me. Trish is all I’ve got left now.”
“Well, if you’re sure.”
Nikki nodded.
After finishing her meal she went and joined the telephone queue.
There were a couple of women ahead of her so she leant on the wall and waited
patiently.
She felt suddenly nervous as she picked up the receiver and
debated whether or not to dial. It was only a ‘Gerra move on, Wade’ from one of
the women who had joined the queue after her that spurred her into action. She
dialled the number pensively.
“Hello,” a soft voice answered at the other end of the line.
“Hi, Trish, it’s me.”
“Hiya, Nik! How are you?” Trisha greeted her warmly.
“Not too bad. Thanks for the letter,” she said gratefully. “Is it
alright to ring you? I don’t want to cause you any trouble.”
“Nik, I know I did the dirty on you but we are still friends,
aren’t we?” Trish asked sincerely.
“I hope so, Trish. I could really use a friend at the moment.”
“You sound down, Nik. What’s wrong?”
“Women trouble. What else?” she replied bitterly. “I was seeing
someone but we had a row and she dumped me! Look, Trish, I can’t really talk now.
Will you come and see me if I send you a visiting order?”
“Of course I will,” she agreed then paused momentarily. “I still
love you, Nik.”
“Yeah, well, let’s see how it goes, eh, Trish? See you soon.” She
replaced the receiver thoughtfully and slowly walked back to her cell deep in
thought. Maybe ringing Trish hadn’t been such a good idea after all but since
Helen had abandoned her, she needed someone in her life that cared. Over two
months and she hadn’t heard a word from her.
She entered her cell and sat down on her bunk. So, Trish still
loved her. Her heart belonged to Helen and always would but she still cared
about Trish. You couldn’t live with someone for nine years and not have
feelings for them. She laughed bitterly. Helen had also said she loved her but
she had done a runner at the first sign of commitment. Love! She didn’t know
the meaning of the word. Trish and her, that was what love was about. Nine
years together and both prepared to do anything for the other. Hadn’t she
proved that? She’d killed to protect Trish!
Barbara was always banging on about soul mates. Well maybe Trish
was her soul mate and not Helen. At least she was prepared to stick around long
enough for them to find out and when she was eventually freed Trish would be
the one waiting for her!
Helen heard the mail drop through the letterbox and rushed to the
door. Nothing from Nikki again, she thought dismally as she glanced at the
envelopes. Dominic had written to her and she had phoned him at least once a
week in the three months she had been home but obviously Nikki still didn’t
want anything to do with her.
“Are you coming out tonight, Hel?” Anna asked as Helen entered the
kitchen.
“I think I’ll give it a miss, thanks, Sis. There’s a programme I
want to watch on TV and I’ve some letters to write.” She poured herself a cup
of coffee and sat down at the table.
“Helen, you haven’t been out for weeks. You’re becoming a real
couch potato,” Anna sneered.
“Anna, stop bothering your sister,” Mary Stewart scolded her
youngest daughter. “She doesn’t have to go out drinking every night if she
doesn’t want to. It’s a pity someone else not a million miles away doesn’t take
a leaf out of her book.”
As their mother bustled out of the kitchen, Helen smirked at her
sister. “Consider yourself told off.”
“Do you fancy going shopping then or is that too exciting for
you?” Anna retorted sarcastically. “I could do with some new shoes.”
“No chance!” Helen exclaimed. “I know you. You work your way
through every shoe shop in town and then you can’t find anything you want.”
“When have I ever done that?” Anna demanded innocently.
“Every single time I’ve gone shopping with you!” Helen replied
with a grin.
Mary came back into the kitchen. “If you want to do something useful,
Anna, you can do the shopping. Food shopping, that is.” Anna grimaced.
“Give me a list, Mum, and I’ll do it,” Helen offered.
Anna stood up and patted Helen on the head. “Consider yourself
exonerated,” she grinned as she went out of the kitchen.
Helen pulled up outside the cottage a couple of hours later. She
had dropped Anna off and then gone to the local supermarket. As she opened the
boot and started taking out the carrier bags someone spoke behind her. “Can I
give you a hand?”
She whirled round, a smile on her lips. “Dominic! What on earth
are you doing her?”
“I’m on holiday for a week so I thought I’d give you a surprise,”
he grinned.
She looked up and down the street. “Where’s your bike?”
“Your dad said I could put it round the back. Here let me give you
a hand.” He helped her empty the boot and carry the bags into the house.
“It’s so good to see you, Dominic,” she told him warmly as they
entered the kitchen.
“You too. Larkhall’s not the same without you.”
“Do me a favour, Dom,” she said quietly. “Don’t say anything about
me losing my job. I haven’t told them yet and hopefully if I can find another
job soon I won’t have to tell them at all.”
“No, I won’t say anything,” he assured her.
As she put the last of the shopping away she turned and looked at
him. “How’s Nikki?”
He shrugged. “She seems to be alright. I don’t see that much of
her.”
“I’ve been gone three months, Dom, has she never mentioned me once
in all that time?”
Only every morning for all of those three months, he thought to
himself but said aloud, “Not after that first day. I think she’s back with her
old girlfriend. She’s been to see her a few times.”
“I see,” she replied dismally. So she was back with Trish. Well,
she only had herself to blame. She had told Nikki to do it!